Rev 9:5 | NET2full | STEP | The locusts were not given permission to kill them , but only to torture them for five months , and their torture was like that of a scorpion when it stings a person .

Revelation of John 9:5

5 The locusts ^{▼▼tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} were not given permission ^{▼▼tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.} to kill ^{▼▼tn The two ἵνα (hina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edothē).} them, but only to torture ^{▼▼tn On this term BDAG 168 s.v. βασανισμός states, “1. infliction of severe suffering or pain associated with torture or torment, tormenting, torture Rv 9:5b.—2. the severe pain experienced through torture, torment vs. 5a; 14:11; 18:10, 15; (w. πένθος) vs. 7.”} them ^{▼▼tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.} for five months, and their torture was like that ^{▼▼tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.} of a scorpion when it stings a person. ^{▼▼tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.}